


Squeak and Freak

by Menya_Savut



Category: Girl Meets World
Genre: Bisexuality, Christmas, Gen, High School, Homosexuality, Multi, Platonic Cuddling, Platonic Kissing, Queer Themes, larkle friendship, physical affection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-02
Updated: 2015-08-02
Packaged: 2018-04-12 16:04:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4485969
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Menya_Savut/pseuds/Menya_Savut
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Collection of drabbles focusing on Lucas and Farkle's friendship.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Squeak and Freak

**Author's Note:**

> I usually hate author notes before a story, but you must know that GSD stands for gender and sexual diversity. (Gives an indication of the flavor of this story, eh?) That is all.

Topanga’s in November.

Well, November was almost over, but the air still held a faint aroma of pumpkin spice and cinnamon. The cinnamon smell probably would continue for some time, as the Christmas season was almost upon them. Farkle might get sick of cinnamon in a couple of weeks, when everything he ate would taste of it, but right now it only filled him with a muted anticipation for the holidays.

“-skiing in Colorado! For the whole two weeks! I mean, I’ve never skied before, so maybe I won’t like it, but I’m thinking I’ll like it!”

That was Riley. Her hands were wrapped around a steaming mug of (cinnamon) hot chocolate, and she had turned toward Maya. Her face pulled into a hopeful expression.

“Please tell me you and your mom will come with us!”

“I don’t know, Riley. Skiing in Colorado sounds expensive.”

That was Maya; even when calm she was intimidating. Farkle loved her for it, loved Riley for her endless good cheer. The two were sides of the same coin, and utterly essential to him.

“But we’re _inviting_ you to come with us!” Riley said. “You know my dad won’t let you guys pay.”

“Still, that’s a really big trip.”

“Oh, just ask your mom again! Maybe she’s decided to go by now.”

“Alright, Sunshine, I will. _After_ her shift. Hey Ranger Rick! What’s your Christmas break looking like?”

Ranger Rick. Lucas. “Not much. It’s just me and my mama. My papa has to stay in Austin for business.”

“Sounds crazy boring,” said Maya. “At least Farkle will be there to keep you company.”

“Really? You’re staying?”

Farkle turned from his tea and looked at Lucas. “Yep. Farkle’s partying solo. The parents are going to a convention. They’re actually leaving next week.”

“Next week? But you’ll be home alone!” Lucas said.

“Eh, don’t sweat it. They go to conventions all the time.”

“But – you could stay with me! Like I said, it’s just me and Mama. She’s gone for most of the day working. It gets kind of lonely. I’m sure she’d love to have you. I mean, if that’s okay with you.”

Farkle considered it. “Sounds cool, as long as your mom’s okay with it. I’ll ask my parents.”

“Hey look, Sunshine, it’s snowing,” Maya said suddenly, head turned toward the window.

“Oh, can we go outside?” Riley exclaimed.

“We should probably be starting for home anyway,” Lucas said. “It looks like it might get big.”

Farkle downed his tea and flung his scarf over his shoulder. Maya tossed him his beanie and he shoved it down on his head. He took the jacket slung over his seat and put it on. “I’m off!” he cried jauntily, and twirled out the door, his friends following.

They traipsed out merrily onto the street, a jumbled mass of four. Farkle linked his arms with Maya’s and Riley’s and skipped them down the sidewalk. For a while, they walked in camaraderie, but eventually they split up to go to their respective homes. Riley and Farkle lived nearest to each other and so their path was the same for a little while longer, but Maya and Lucas had to leave them.

“Don’t forget to ask about skiing!” Riley called to Maya. She waved back.

“You too, Farkle!” Lucas said. “Ask if you can stay over!”

Farkle gave a smart salute and whisked Riley off toward home.

 

Lucas’s mother had said yes, sure, and Farkle’s parents had said yes, sure, and Saturday night found Farkle on Lucas’s front porch, suitcase in one hand and backpack slung over his shoulder. Mrs. Friar greeted Farkle and his parents warmly, and Lucas whisked him up to his room to get settled in while the adults chatted downstairs. Farkle said goodbye to his parents one last time and accepted their many kisses with good form. Finally, Lucas, Mrs. Friar, and Farkle stood in the doorway, waving as Farkle’s parents drove away in the delicate snowfall.

The three of them had spaghetti and meatballs for dinner, and Farkle got acquainted with Lucas’s mother. Later, they moved to the family room and talked until nearly midnight.

 

Mid-December, Friday afternoon.

Lucas peered out over the throng of students, searching for Farkle. Finally, he saw a hand rise up and wave toward him.

Farkle squeezed between two eighth-grade girls and appeared in front of Lucas. “I forgot to tell you!” he said breathlessly. “I’m coming home late today because I’ve got programming club. Meets every other Friday. I’m sorry.”

“That’s alright.” Lucas remembered that they often didn’t hang out on Fridays because Farkle had his club and Mr. Matthews was adamant about his family time. Lucas and Farkle didn’t usually walk home together, so Lucas had forgotten.

“See you tonight, then,” Farkle said.

“See you.”

 

Lucas trekked the few blocks to the subway station through a thick blanket of fallen snow. On Friday afternoon, the station was less crowded, and Lucas had no trouble finding a seat. From the subway, he walked home in a light flurry.

He called his friends in Texas and chatted for a while, then started on dinner. His mother wouldn’t be home until after midnight, but she’d prepared the ingredients to make beef stew. Lucas threw everything into the pot and let it sit. He took a quick shower while dinner cooked. He ladled himself a bowl and sat at the kitchen table, stirring his soup. Lucas finished his dinner and Farkle still wasn’t back. His phone beeped.

 _Riley said we could come over if you guys want._ Maya. Lucas texted back.

_Farkle’s not back from his club yet._

_It’s a girls’ night, then._

Lucas washed his dishes and debated whether to prepare a bowl for Farkle or to just put everything in the fridge. He heard the front door open.

“Farkle?” Lucas walked into the living room. Farkle stood on the foyer, bundled in layers of winter clothes and soaking wet.

“Code was being stupid,” Farkle said, taking off his shoes. “Macy couldn’t make it today, so it was just the three of us wrestling with it. Sorry I got back so late.”

“You’re soaked,” Lucas said. “Go take a shower. I made beef stew.”

Farkle nodded, not bothering to peel off his wet jacket. He climbed upstairs and Lucas popped some stew into the microwave for him.

Farkle emerged after awhile in dry clothes, his hair still damp. Lucas handed him his dinner and they sat at the table together. Farkle inhaled half the bowl before speaking.

“Your mother not back either?”

“No, she’s working ‘til one. I got a text from Maya about hanging out at Riley’s house, but you weren’t back yet.”

“It’s probably too late to go over there now.”

“Too much snow, too. Wanna swim through that again?”

They laughed.

 

A Wednesday night.

“Lucas.”

No answer.

“Hey. Lucas.”

A mumble. “Huh?”

“Are you awake?”

“…yeah.”

They’d gone to bed about an hour ago. Technically it was a school night, but school had been cancelled the next day because of the blizzard raging through the city. Lucas and Farkle had stayed up until midnight watching a movie. Now they were huddled in the bunk bed, Lucas below and Farkle above.

“Lucas? I’m cold.”

Lucas shifted diagonally on his bed to try to see Farkle. All he could make out was a lumpy mass that might have been Farkle’s head. “Do you want another blanket?”

The mass shifted but said nothing. Then, an arm flung out and draped over the side of the bed. “I wanna cuddle.”

Lucas blinked. “Really?”

The mass of Farkle shifted again. “Yes.”

“I’m not coming up there,” Lucas said.

Lucas heard Farkle throw his blankets off and climb down the ladder. Lucas shifted so that he was parallel again, and moved over so Farkle could join him. In a moment, Farkle was clambering in.

“Your feet are cold!” Lucas said.

Farkle disregarded this and wiggled into his side. “Mmm, toasty warm.”

“Maybe you wouldn’t be cold if you weren’t so skinny.”

“I can’t help my stunning physique. It just happens.”

“Yeah, okay,” Lucas said, and straightened the blankets over Farkle. “Go to sleep. I was having a great dream, you know.”

“What was it about?”

“I was riding a buffalo through school. Everyone was running around, panicking. Then Denny Morrison was there, you know the one I always complain about pitching horribly? Yeah, well, he tried to pitch to my buffalo, so I lassoed him.”

“You can lasso?”

“Not in real life.”

“I bet Denny Morrison was ticked off.”

“I didn’t see. You woke me up.”

“Oh.”

“So now I’m going back to sleep so I can gloat and dance circles around him on my buffalo.”

“Okay. Good luck.”

They dropped off.

 

“No, really?...Sick!...Yeah, I never knew Evangeline skateboarded…She must have really showed you up. Are you going to…Awesome! Good luck at the meet…Honestly, I miss the warm weather. Snow’s up to my knees…yeah, you think it’s cool now, but I haven’t been able to feel my feet for about a month.”

Lucas propped his legs up against the wall beside his bed, then changed his mind and flipped onto his stomach.

“What’s Dylan doing for break?...You’re kidding. Bali? What a brat…Nah, I’m stuck up here. But at least I won’t be in _Terrytown, Nebraska._ How many people live there, Asher? Twelve?...uh-huh, whatever you say to make yourself feel better – hey, Farkle’s here!”

Farkle had just walked into Lucas’s room, still toweling his hair after a shower. He grinned and sat at the edge of Lucas’s bed, taking the phone from him and chirping, “Hey, Asher!” with the towel still covering most of his face.

Lucas grinned and sat up. Immediately, Farkle and Asher jumped into a conversation about the new Godzilla movie and its scientific merits. Lucas lifted a corner of the towel up; Farkle ignored him and continued chatting as if nothing had happened. Still grinning, Lucas gently tugged at the towel. Nothing. Lucas gave the towel a jerk, and Farkle got a mouthful of damp cloth.

“Lucas!” came the garbled response. Farkle pulled the towel away. “I’m trying to have a civilized conversation here!”

Lucas just laughed. “Yeah, so was I, until you took the phone from me!”

Farkle smiled cheekily, and said to Asher, “Lucas is jealous.”

Asher didn’t seem to sympathize with Lucas at all, because Farkle was soon laughing again. Lucas sighed reproachfully and took the towel from Farkle. He started rubbing Farkle’s hair dry, listening to Farkle’s side of the conversation.

“-not the lasers. Never the lasers. I don’t care about the plot…They could’ve done anything else! Radioactive spoons, whatever! I mean…I guess, but they should’ve waited…Just a sec, let me tell Lucas.” Farkle turned around and Lucas tucked the towel around his shoulders. “Asher has to go. Wanna say goodbye?”

“Sure.” Lucas took his phone from Farkle and Farkle left to put the towel away, hair now relatively dry. Lucas said his goodbyes to Asher and ended the call. He lied down on his bed. A little while later, Farkle appeared again, his hair brushed into place. He crossed the room and started tidying up his suitcase.

“What are Asher and Dylan doing for Christmas break?” Farkle asked.

“Dylan’s going to Bali, like the spoiled rich kid he is. Asher’s going to Nebraska to visit his grandmother.”

“You guys aren’t going to meet up?”

“It doesn’t look like it.”

Farkle held up an especially wooly sweater and tried to fold it. Lucas studied the underside of the top bunk.

“How did you stay friends with Maya and Riley for all these years?” Lucas asked. “All my Austin friends I only just met in middle school.”

“Well, it might be easier for us since we’ve always gone to the same school,” Farkle said. “And Riley and I live two streets away from each other, so we were always going to each other’s houses. And once Riley met Maya, she tagged along too. We just spent a lot of time together.”

“Hmm,” said Lucas. “I had some friends in elementary school, but in fifth grade we moved to another part of the city. I still went to the same elementary school for fifth grade, but after that I was zoned to a different middle school from my friends.” He paused. “Maybe I should have kept in better touch with them.”

“Don’t feel bad,” Farkle said. “Friendship is weird like that. Sometimes you really love people when you’re with them, but you don’t mind when you’re not with them. Sometimes you enjoy them a little bit, and then suddenly realize you really miss them when you’re far away.”

“But how can friendships matter if they can just start and end whenever?”

“That’s the paradox, isn’t it? I mean, if you think about it, why are you friends with your friends in the first place? Why are you friends with these particular people out of everyone in the whole world? I guess it partly has to do with the fact that you’re around the same age, and living a similar life, and maybe have some common interests and beliefs. But I bet there’s someone in Australia that you could be friends with, but you’ve never met them.

“Friendship is a little bit arbitrary. You could be friends with Dylan and Asher in Austin, or you could be friends with Linda and Gary in Oregon, or you could be friends with Tim and Jared in Australia. So what makes Dylan and Asher so special, besides the fact that your lives just happened to cross? Nothing, really. But if they still matter to you, then they still matter to you, whether it turns out you’re friends your whole lives or only for another year. There doesn’t have to be logic behind it.”

“Farkle, not needing logic?” Lucas teased.

“I’m an enigma,” Farkle said proudly. Lucas smiled.

 

Family game night!

Well, family game night for the four musketeers. It was the day before Christmas Eve, and Riley and Maya were over at Lucas’s house. They were in the upstairs sitting room, an empty sparkling cider bottle in the middle of their circle on the rug.

They were playing a mix of spin the bottle and truth or dare. Riley had just been dared to sing “Old McDonald Had a Farm,” and they’d all clapped and whooped like idiots. Finally Riley sat back down and spun the bottle. It landed on Maya.

“Aha!” said Riley. “Truth or dare? Please say dare!”

“Alright, dare,” said Maya.

“I dare you…to call my dad and ask for dating advice!”

“Oooh!” Lucas and Farkle taunted. Farkle grinned. Poor Mr. Matthews.

“Put it on speaker!” Riley said as Maya pulled out her phone. She dialed Mr. Matthews’s number and set the phone down in the middle of their circle.

“Hello? Maya?” came Mr. Matthews’s voice.

“Hey, Mr. Matthews,” Maya said nervously.

“What’s going on? Is there something wrong? Should I come-”

“No, no!” Maya said hurriedly, glancing at her snickering friends. “Everything’s fine over here, but…I just have this…problem.”

“What problem? Should I call your mom?”

“ _No,_ Mr. Matthews! I just…I-like-a-guy-at-school-and-I-don’t-know-what-to-do.”

“You like someone at school?” said Mr. Matthews dubiously. Everyone but Maya was trying to stifle their laughter in the carpet. “Who?”

“Say Farkle!” Riley whispered frantically. Farkle nodded, choking on his laughter.

“Uhh…it’s Farkle.”

“Well, what’s the problem? Doesn’t he really like you?”

“Yeah, but…he also likes Riley! And I want him to pick me! Because…I like him!”

Riley couldn’t hold it in anymore. She burst into laughter. So did Lucas and Farkle. Maya groaned loudly.

“Maya?” said Mr. Matthews. “What’s going on?”

“You’ve been pranked!” Riley yelled, and dissolved into laughter again.

“Sorry Mr. Matthews,” Maya said, and hung up the phone.

Eventually they all caught their breath again. Maya reached for the bottle and brandished it threateningly. “I’m spinning now!”

She flicked the bottle around. It finally landed on Lucas.

“Ah, Ranger Rick,” said Maya. “Truth or dare?”

“Uhm, uh, truth,” Lucas said apprehensively.

“Alright, truth. We’ll start easy, since this is your first round in the game. Who’s your celebrity crush? Can’t be too embarrassing.”

Lucas grinned weakly. “Depends on what you consider embarrassing. Elizabeth Taylor.”

“Elizabeth Taylor?” Maya pulled out her phone.

“ _National Velvet, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Cleopatra_ ,” Farkle listed.

“She’s pretty,” Maya said as she and Riley flipped through images. “Do you like anyone from this century, though?”

“Well, who do you think looks good?”

“Angelina Jolie and her cheekbones.”

“I’d have to agree with you on that one,” Riley said.

“They look like she could slice someone in half with them!” Lucas protested.

“That’s the appeal!” Maya said.

“How fittingly morbid of you, Maya,” Lucas said.

“Well fine!” said Maya. “What do you think, Farkle?”

“I do not crush on celebrities,” Farkle said assertively. “Why should I, when I have my ladies?”

“Oh, Farkle,” said Riley and Maya, exasperated.

“Surely there must be someone,” said Riley. “Come on, Farkle, who’s your celebrity crush?”

“Not my turn,” said Farkle. “And you can’t repeat a truth or a dare twice. You’ll have to ask me at another game.”

“Fine!” Maya huffed. “Here Lucas, spin.”

 

They played until Mr. Matthews came to take the girls home. Lucas and Farkle didn’t stay up much later than that. When Lucas finally crawled into bed, Farkle joined him without saying anything. He lied on his stomach on top of Lucas, and Lucas wrapped his arms comfortably around him.

“Big baby,” Lucas teased.

Farkle hummed in reply. They lied there for awhile, Lucas idly drawing patters onto Farkle’s back.

“You looked pretty stupid trying to do a headstand,” Farkle mumbled vaguely.

“Thanks,” Lucas replied. “You looked even stupider after Maya’s little makeover.”

“I think I pulled it off fabulously.”

“She used mascara on your nose! You looked diseased!”

“You’re just jealous of my beauty,” Farkle said contentedly.

“…What?” said Lucas, rubbing at Farkle’s forehead where he missed a pale smudge of lipstick. “How is that even possible?”

Farkle smiled. They fell silent again. Lucas tugged absentmindedly at Farkle’s hair.

“You know who my celebrity crush is?” Farkle asked suddenly.

“Who?”

A pause. “Brad Pitt.”

“Brad Pitt?” Lucas considered. “Don’t you think he looks kind of old? I mean, Hugh Jackman pulls off a better old than he does.”

“Hugh Jackman? He’s scruffy.”

“Scruffy’s, like, a rugged handsome, though, right? Besides, Brad looks so…bland.”

“What?” Farkle stared at him. “He was Achilles in _Troy_! How can you call that bland?”

“Achilles is a pretty bland guy.”

“You’re kidding. Achilles? Maybe the most hotheaded person in history?”

“Hotheaded people are bland.”

“Okay, whatever. Sure. You obviously don’t have eyes.”

Farkle huffed and Lucas chuckled. He continued to card through Farkle’s hair.

“Do you really think Hugh Jackman is attractive?” Farkle murmured.

Lucas squeezed him gently. “No.”

 

Christmas Eve and Christmas were a quiet affair in the Friar household. It was just Farkle, Lucas, and his mom. On Christmas Eve, they made a gingerbread house that looked like Lucas’s home in Austin, complete with gummy farm animals and a pretzel scarecrow. Farkle took pictures of it and sent them to Maya and Riley, eliciting a barrage of cowboy jokes from Maya. Later that evening, they lit the fireplace and Lucas’s mother told them a ghost story about one Christmas Eve she had as a child. After a last cup of warm cider, Lucas and Farkle went to bed.

Christmas morning came with a bit of a surprise for Farkle. He’d already exchanged gifts with his friends that night of truth or dare, and he got a gift from his parents of course, but Mrs. Friar had gotten him a book. _Letters to a Young Poet_ by Rainer Maria Rilke.

“It’s just a little thing,” said Mrs. Friar.

“Thank you so much,” said Farkle.

Christmas lunch was spent at the Matthews’s. The apartment was packed to the brim, and Farkle thought he heard what might have been the landlord shouting through the door to keep it down, but no one paid any attention. After being stuffed with Christmas turkey and pecan pie, the kids went up to Riley’s room (“with the door open!” shouted Mr. Matthews) to break in a few of the games they got. By four o’clock, Farkle’s parents called to say they had arrived back in town, and Lucas’s mother took him back to the house so he could pack up his things and meet his parents.

 

\---

 

High school.

The place was still called John Quincy Adams (you’d think they could find some other historical figure to name the school after), but it was bigger, and brasher, and of course Farkle had everyone under his thumb, but new environments tended to jar people and he wasn’t sure how the populace would take it. Certainly, the upperclassmen weren’t pleased to have an upstart little freshman take over the school, but it could hardly be helped.

“It’s only the second week and you’ve already got the school singing Farkle Nation,” Lucas commented, his arms draped over the rails of the top bunk. “How do you do it?”

“Conviction,” Farkle said, picking a leaf out of his hair and flicking it out the window. He sat on the sill facing inward, bare toes scuffing the wall beneath. “Conviction and persistence. Tell ‘em how it’s gonna be, don’t take no for an answer. Plus, power looks good on me.”

“The girls at school really seem to think so,” said Lucas wryly. “How many have you kissed again, you flirt?”

“I will not count women as if they were livestock,” said Farkle scornfully.

“Yeah, but still. You’re a skinny gay guy named Farkle Minkus! Why in the world is female population of JQA after you?”

“ _Vaccinium Arboreum_ Minkus,” said Farkle.

“What?”

“That’s my name.” Farkle slid off the sill and shut the window. “ _Vaccinium arboreum_ is the proper name for the farkleberry or sparkleberry. My mother grew up in North Carolina, and they were her favorite, so she calls me Farkle.” He sat down on the bottom bunk.

“Huh,” said Lucas. He climbed over the rail and dropped down beside Farkle. “Why didn’t I know this before?”

“Maya would be over the moon, wouldn’t she?”

Lucas laughed. “Yeah, I guess she would.”

Farkle flopped back on the bed. “Riley knows. She thinks it’s sweet.”

“It is sweet.”

“Wouldn’t much help my position as ruler of the universe, though.”

“Guess not. You still haven’t explained how you get all the girls.”

“I’m irresistible! They can’t help it.”

“Alright, Farkle,” said Lucas, flicking Farkle’s bangs off his forehead. “Hey, did you say the GSD club was tomorrow?”

“Yeah, wanna come?”

“Can I?”

“Of course! Maya’s presenting.”

“Goodness. Maybe I’ll skip.”

“Nah, come. She’ll love it.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of.”

 

“Bisexuality!”

Maya, standing on Mr. Matthews’s desk, Mr. Matthews looking on with trepidation.

“Means you can be attracted to both guys and girls. Simple enough, until you consider that gender isn’t necessarily just ‘guy’ and ‘girl’, but that’s for another day.”

Farkle glanced at Lucas from his spot beside Mr. Matthews. Dear Ranger Rick was sitting in the front row next to a beaming Riley, looking as if he wasn’t quite sure what he had gotten into and wondering if he should regret it.

“There are tons of myths about bisexuality. Myth Number One: that it doesn’t exist. Which is obviously false, given Exhibit A.” She did a twirl on the desk. Mr. Matthews visibly flinched.

“People think it’s a myth because, well, I don’t really get it myself, but because they think you can’t be attracted to two different genders, because that’s being attracted to two things. It’s like liking chocolate _and_ vanilla! Crazy, right? That would break the universe.”

A few students broke into nervous laughter. Mr. Matthews cleared his throat uncomfortably.

“The important thing is,” he cut in, “that we should affirm and respect another person’s sexual orientation, no matter how strange or unbelievable we think it is. It’s important that everyone feels validated on all aspects of their personal identity.”

“Yeah, that,” said Maya. “Anyway!”

She continued on for a few more minutes. Afterward, some students asked questions. Farkle then took Maya’s place on the desk (Mr. Matthews whimpered) and made a few announcements about club registration and upcoming events.

“That was fun,” Lucas said after everyone but the four of them and Mr. Matthews had left. “Sort of.”

“Thank you!” Maya gushed.

Riley squeezed her. “You were amazing up there! Totally inspiring!”

“Oh, was that was that was?” said Mr. Matthews dryly.

“Thanks again for chartering this club, sir,” said Farkle.

“No problem, Farkle.”

 

Lucas tried not to look at Farkle. He knew Farkle was looking at him.

He instead focused his eyes on the street in front of him, but he found that they kept wanting to drift to his feet, which would’ve been a dead giveaway.

Farkle had been watching him ever since they left school, when he also waved goodbye to Riley and Maya without looking at them. When they’d boarded the subway, Farkle had made some comment about their group project, and then even hazarded bringing up the true issue, but Lucas could only give him vague responses. Farkle had fallen into thoughtful silence after that.

Lucas’s eyes flicked down to his feet again, but he blinked resolutely and pulled his gaze away. He heard Farkle falter in his footsteps, and knew he had noticed. Neither dared to say anything.

They turned onto Lucas’s street, and Farkle hurried ahead. When they reached the front door, Farkle held his hand out; Lucas passed him the key and they slipped inside.

“Go upstairs,” Farkle said, handing him back the key. “I’ll meet you in a little bit.”

Lucas nodded, preoccupied. He turned and headed up the staircase. Farkle and his mother’s voices floated up to him from the kitchen.

“Hey Mrs. Friar! How was your day?”

“Oh, hello Farkle! It was wonderful; thanks for asking. We had a board meeting…”

Their voices faded in Lucas’s bedroom. He dropped his backpack, threw the key on his desk, and considered the wall opposite his bed. At the moment, the wall was covered mostly in memos and flyers: the schedule for baseball practice, a row of various business cards, photos of some of his horses back in Austin. Lucas carefully began to pick at the tape holding down a school picture day brochure.

The project Mr. Matthews had assigned was to compare two parallel timelines in history to see if there were any moments that crossed over or influenced each other. Lucas and Farkle had partnered up, and they agreed that the best course of action would be to visually draw out the timelines on index cards. They’d put the cards in order on Lucas’s wall and look for any connections. Over the past week, they’d already written out all the cards and now just needed to space them out on Lucas’s wall.

Farkle appeared as Lucas was picking the tape off the last business card. He added it to the pile on the floor, and Farkle rummaged in his backpack for the note cards.

“Here’s Hitler’s rise to power…and the Great Depression.”

“Alright,” said Lucas. “Here’s the timeline…”

Lucas and Farkle spread the paper timeline across the wall and taped it down.

“Now for the cards…”

Lucas picked up the _Great Depression_ stack and began matching dates of events to dates on the timeline. Beside him, Farkle riffled through the _Hitler_ cards.

Lucas was just taping up _FDR elected, 1932_ when Farkle said, “You were right, you know.”

It came out somewhat reproachful, and Lucas paused.

Farkle spoke again. “Can I ask you about how you got suspended?”

Lucas hoped he didn’t flinch too visibly. “What do you want to know? I’ve already told you about it.”

“You were suspended because you were defending another student, right?”

“…Right.”

“And you were defending this student physically.”

“Yes.”

“You beat up Zay’s bully.”

“Yeah,” Lucas said softly.

“So what would have happened if you didn’t do it?”

“Well, I wouldn’t have gotten suspended,” Lucas said quietly, “and Zay’s face would’ve been bashed in.”

“If you could do it over again, would you change anything?”

Lucas couldn’t say.

“Do you regret it?”

“Of course I regret it!” Lucas finally turned to face Farkle.

“Well, you shouldn’t!” Farkle said angrily. “Maybe you regret the effect of your actions, but you shouldn’t regret standing up for a friend!”

“I hurt someone!” Lucas groaned.

“What would have happened if you chose to do nothing? What if you saw the guy whaling into Zay, and you just thought, ‘Attacking someone is bad; I shouldn’t fight’? You said it yourself! Zay would’ve been ruined! Either way, someone gets hurt, and at least when you acted, you were doing it for a good reason! Don’t get me wrong; what happened was horrible and you should feel uncomfortable about it. But even though what you did was bad, it wasn’t wrong. Choosing to protect your friend, choosing to honor your friendship with Zay, wasn’t wrong.”

Lucas groaned and rubbed his face in his hands. He stared at _Hitler becomes leader of Nazi Party, 1921._

“You were right to call Riley out on her BS today. Maya was right to jump to her defense. Being a friend to someone involves both criticizing them for their wrongdoings and supporting them unconditionally. You were doing your job as Riley’s friend, and Maya was doing her job as Riley’s friend. Maya didn’t yell at you because you did something wrong; she was doing it for Riley.”

Lucas glanced at Farkle. He dropped his hands to his sides.

Farkle sighed and leaned up to kiss Lucas on the cheek. “Believe me,” he said. “Come on; your mom said dinner would be ready about now.”

He turned away from Lucas and headed out the room. Lucas followed.

 

“I have a secret!”

Farkle felt jittery all over, but this was the best kind of jittery and it was giving him whiplash and he didn’t know what to do and that was wonderful and just – he should probably step back and clear his head, but he really didn’t want to.

The four of them were sitting at the edge of the lower roof of the school; technically students weren’t supposed to be up there but it was only the roof over the first floor and Farkle begged a key from Janitor Harley (who wasn’t supposed to have a key either, as he worked at the middle school and not the high school, but Farkle had the prudence not to mention it). They were lined up at the edge, feet dangling over the side of the building, Lucas, Farkle, Riley, Maya.

“Well go on, spill!” said Maya. Their faces held open anticipation.

“I have a crush!” Farkle said.

“Really?” Riley squealed. “Who is it?”

“Brandon.”

“Brandon? Who’s Brandon?” Maya asked.

“He was in Mr. Matthews’s class with us in seventh grade. He nominated me for dictator.”

“Oh, him!” said Lucas. “Wow, Farkle, tall, dark, and mysterious?”

“He’s not that much of a mystery,” Farkle said. “He just likes to keep himself to himself.” He pulled his legs up to the edge of the roof and scooted back. Maya and Lucas angled toward him, and Riley craned her head back.

“Farkle, that’s the mysterious part!” she said. “Why does he keep himself to himself? Who is he? What’s his _thing?_ ” She swung around so that she was facing away from the edge, legs pulled up like Farkle.

“His thing?” Lucas asked.

“Yeah! What’s he like, when he’s not being antisocial?”

“Well, maybe Farkle will find out,” Maya said, lying back. “Since he’s obviously going to ask him out on a date. Right, Farkle?”

“Yes,” said Farkle. “Probably.”

“What do you mean, ‘probably’?” Riley said. “You have to!”

“I will!” said Farkle. “I want to. Really really.”

“Good,” said Riley.

 

“Faaarkle!”

Farkle turned in the hallway, filled with students scrambling to leave school as quickly as possible. Lucas was peeking around the corner, which looked ridiculous.

“ _What_ , Lucas?” Farkle whined.

Lucas grinned and walked over. “A little birdy told me you were doing it now.”

“What? Who? Was it Riley? Never mind. I _am_ doing it now, so shoo!”

“Wow, you haven’t even asked him yet and you’re already brushing off your friends?” Lucas teased.

“You know what I mean! Lu- _cas…_ ”

“So how are you gonna do it? Are you trying to catch him near his locker? Is this where he gets out of his last class? Did-”

“Lucas, please stop!” Farkle said imploringly.

“-you leave him a note? What are you going to say when he shows up? You’re so flustered!” Lucas was basically towering over Farkle now, and if Farkle didn’t know he was teasing, he would have felt seriously threatened.

“Yeah, well, maybe I’m a little flustered because you’re psyching me out!” Farkle’s eyes darted behind Lucas. He gasped and jerked so that his body was completely blocked by Lucas’s.

“What?” Lucas said. He glanced behind him. “Oh, is that him?”

Lucas motioned his head toward a boy shoving textbooks into his locker. Farkle nodded, terrified.

Lucas laughed. He turned himself and Farkle so that they were side by side, facing toward the boy. “Go ask before he leaves school!”

Farkle threw him a panicked glance. Lucas pushed him gently. “Go on!”

Farkle jerked and scampered over to the boy. “Hi,” he tried.

“Hey, Farkle,” said Brandon. “How’s-” He dropped a particularly thick book. “Ah, damn!”

Quickly, Farkle crouched down and grabbed it up. He clutched it to his chest and regarded Brandon warily.

“Oh, thanks,” said Brandon, reaching for his book, but Farkle shied away, still wearing his calculating expression.

“Brandon,” Farkle said.

“Ye-es?” Brandon said, his hand still hanging in midair.

“Will you…” Farkle narrowed his eyes. “…go on a date with me?”

Brandon blinked. “Yes, as long as you promise not to gut me. You can be really intimidating sometimes, you know that?”

Farkle relaxed. “Yes,” he said complacently, and handed Brandon’s book back. “Shall we meet at Tamulien? Thursday at seven?”

“Yum,” said Brandon. “See you there.”

Brandon closed his locker and turned to head home from school. Farkle waited until he was nearly down the hall, then spun on the spot to walk to his own locker. He was intercepted by Lucas, again, at the corner.

“Yes!” Lucas cheered. “Wait ‘til you tell Riley and Maya!”

“Were you listening the whole time?” Farkle shook his head to get rid of the buzzing in his brain.

“I couldn’t hear anything, but I saw him smiling, so he couldn’t have been turning you down,” said Lucas.

“Yeah,” said Farkle. His vision was still a little hazy, and he swayed a little.

“Wow, buddy, you’re whipped,” Lucas laughed. “Come on, go get your stuff. Riley said to meet near the flagpole.”

 

He told them every detail, of course, and they reacted with much dramatics, which pleased Farkle. He tried not to skip all the way home, but he probably failed.

The date went fantastically. They stuffed their faces and talked politics without getting offended at all. The night ended with a walk to the subway station, where they boarded separate trains for home.

As it turned out, Friday was college fair day, so Farkle had nearly no chance to say hello to his friends, let alone tell them how the date went. The few times he did see them, they threw aggressive glances at him, all implying the same thing: _how did it go?_ But Farkle couldn’t say.

School ended with Maya, Riley, and Lucas swooping down on Farkle and promptly kidnapping him to Topanga’s. They accosted their usual table and didn’t even think to order drinks until Farkle explained to them exactly what Brandon thought of Senator Eric (which, honestly, was an opinion also very important to Farkle). Even after they finally ordered from Topanga, Maya didn’t notice the dab of whipped cream on her nose until Farkle finished his recap.

“So it went well!” Riley said, as Maya wiped her nose surreptitiously. “Do you think he likes you?”

“Maybe,” said Farkle. “He seemed like he had fun.”

“Oh, this is so exciting!” Riley gushed. “It would be so sweet if you and Brandon got together.”

“And don’t mind if we live vicariously through you,” Maya said, savagely rubbing the whipped-cream patch on her sleeve. Lucas grinned and swiped the last speck of cream off her nose; she snorted in annoyance. “You’re the first one in the group who’s dating, really really dating.”

“Riley and I dated,” said Lucas.

“And it’s not like we don’t like each other,” said Riley.

“Yes, but you aren’t together _now_ ,” said Maya, “and we all know that your relationship will end up being rainbows and butterflies anyway. Who knows what drama will occur in Farkle’s love life?”

“Thanks for jinxing it, Maya.”

“Hey, I have faith in you. You’ve wooed all the girls; one guy should be a piece of cake.”

“Indeed,” said Lucas. “I have so much faith in his wooing abilities, in fact, that I fear we won’t have much longer to hang out as single bros.”

“You could ask Riley out and double date,” said Maya. “She’d say yes.”

“I probably would,” said Riley, serenely stirring her tea.

Lucas quirked an eyebrow. “My point still stands. Sleepover, Farkle?”

“Everyone chases me, don’t they?” Farkle smirked. “Even you.”

“Why wouldn’t I?” said Lucas, unperturbed. “How about it?”

“Alright.”

 

Lucas’s room, forever and always.

Farkle dropped his overnight bag at the end of the bunk. He pulled out his favorite blanket.

“Just drop that on the bottom bunk,” Lucas said wryly when Farkle made to climb to the top. “You know you’ll end up there anyway.”

“You love it,” Farkle smiled, and moved onto the bed, pulling the blanket with him. He lied back and propped his feet on top of the disorganized lump.

“Yes,” said Lucas evenly. He joined Farkle on the bed and lied across him.

“Oof, “ said Farkle blandly.

Lucas grinned. “Now you know how I feel when you lie on top of me.”

“Yeah, but I’m not all big and muscle-y.”

“Thank you!”

“Get _off_ …”

Lucas laughed and moved off of Farkle. He instead propped himself up on his elbows beside Farkle’s head. Farkle immediately turned onto his side and curled into Lucas.

“Farkle?”

“Should I ask Brandon out?”

Lucas shifted so he could reach over to pluck at Farkle’s hair. “Do you want to?”

“…Yeah.”

“Then you should, of course. You’re not scared?”

“There’s the Formal.”

“Yes, there is.”

Farkle didn’t say anything.

“Uh, Farkle? Everyone knows you’re gay. I don’t know if everyone knows Brandon’s into guys, but I’m pretty sure he doesn’t even know how to care about that. Going to the Formal as a couple isn’t a big deal.”

“They’ll know we’re together.”

“And?”

“…What if we break up and everyone knows that too?”

“Why do you care what other people think?” Lucas sat up, staring cross-legged down at Farkle. “What’s really bothering you?”

“It’s pretty stupid.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

Farkle sighed and peered at Lucas through his ruffled bangs. “I’ve never kissed a guy.”

“Is that all?” Lucas said. “You’ve kissed plenty of girls.”

“I know.”

“Shouldn’t be too different, right?”

“Maybe. But…” Farkle worried his lip, and Lucas took a hand in his. “I’ve never kissed anyone I really like.”

Lucas rubbed his fingers across Farkle’s knuckles. “I never knew you were this much of a sap.”

“I’m not a sap!”

“You just really _really really_ like Brandon.”

“Well, yeah!”

Lucas laughed and pulled Farkle to sit up with him. He tried to brush Farkle’s hair off his forehead, but a few strands fell back. “ _Well,_ you might not really really really like me as much as you like Brandon, but I’m thinking it’s safe to assume that you like me a little bit, right? Since we’re friends?”

“Ye-es…?”

“So I’ll kiss you! And that way you won’t have to be nervous about kissing Brandon! If you don’t mind me being the first guy you kiss, of course.”

“Uh, what?”

“You’ve never kissed a guy, and that makes you nervous to kiss Brandon, because you really _really really_ like Brandon. I’m a guy. You can kiss me and be nervous while kissing me and then when you end your fantastic date with Brandon at the formal, you can be all suave and kiss him!”

“Lucas, I know I shouldn’t label your sexuality for you, but I’m pretty sure you’re straight.”

“I am straight.”

“…Okay, so…”

“But I’m a guy. I am cis-male.”

“Congratulations?”

“Come on! It just has to make sense for you, not for me.”

“It really doesn’t make sense to me.”

“We’re both consenting.”

Farkle snorted. “I haven’t consented yet. Man, if Maya could hear you now.”

“She’d love it. Dude, kiss me.”

“No!”

“Do you not want me to be your first guy kiss?”

“That’s not the problem-”

“Then what is?”

“The logic isn’t bidirectionally sound!”

“Farkle?”

Farkle sighed. “Never mind. _Alright_ , if you really want to.”

“That’s consent?”

“Can we please not talk about consent?”

“You should always talk about consent. Consent is very important.”

“ _Okay, I consent._ Way to not make this awkward.”

“Dude, I’m totally chill.”

Farkle groaned.

“It’s just one little kiss,” Lucas said. “One little kiss with a guy and then your world is opened up to all the guy-kisses you could ever want.” He took Farkle’s face in his hands. “Ready?”

“Sure. Yeah.”

Lucas gently tilted Farkle’s head and leaned in. Right when he was inches away, though, Lucas suddenly said, “What if Brandon doesn’t even want to kiss you?”

Farkle’s face of shocked distress was what finally brought Lucas to slot their lips together.

The kiss lasted for maybe a second, because Lucas burst into laughter and had to stop. He laughed against Farkle’s mouth, then turned to kiss Farkle on one cheek, then the other, then his nose.

“Lucas!”

He couldn’t stop giggling. He gave a lipless kiss to Farkle’s ear. Farkle tried to push Lucas away, but Lucas grabbed his hands and kissed them too.

“You’ve lost it!” Farkle yelled.

“I just – oh, Farkle,” Lucas said. He wrapped Farkle up in his arms and pulled him into his lap. “I really do love you.”

“I love you too, lunatic,” Farkle said. He thumped his head rather hard on Lucas’s shoulder.

“So was it horrible?”

“The kiss on the mouth? No. Everything after that? Yes.”

Lucas laced their fingers together. “You’re gonna ask Brandon to the Formal, then?”

“Yeah. If I don’t, I’m afraid you’ll start dating me, and that can only end in disaster.”

“I think I’d make a great boyfriend.”

“Yes, to a girl.”

“Right. Girls are quite attractive.”

“Eurgh.”

Lucas looked down at their intertwined fingers. He squeezed Farkle’s hands gently.

“Thank you, Lucas.”

“You’re welcome.”

**Author's Note:**

> Whoa, so Farkle’s gay? Yeah. I may have interpreted ‘Girl Meets Flaws’ metaphorically. I may have interpreted ‘Girl Meets Flaws’ metaphorically because I am biased. I regret nothing. To continue with my bias, Maya is bisexual. Riley and Lucas are straight.  
> When Farkle goes to talk to Lucas’s mom in the kitchen before they work on their project, he leaves Lucas to go to his room alone because he knows that Lucas is kinda feeling like crap and probably just wants to be alone to breathe for awhile.  
> Platonic kissing is a thing. Yeah.  
> So why did Lucas burst into laughter after kissing Farkle? I’m not sure how well I can explain this, but I’ll try. Lucas laughs because Farkle is just…his really sweet friend that he loves a lot, and he was so overcome by these feelings of affection that he couldn’t keep kissing Farkle…? That makes sense. That makes a lot of sense. Right?  
> Does this seem like it ended abruptly? Yeah. If you have any suggestions, I’m open to hearing them. Or comments or corrections or whatever you want to say at all.


End file.
